Emergency brake-setting device



I l 0 I July. 927 H. M. EAKIN- EIERGE Y BRAKE 'SETTING DEVICE,

Filed Feb. 27, 1926 Z-Sheets-Sheet 1 iffy Patented July 12, 1927.

HENRY M. EAKIEF, orsnnrrrnmwasmnero v.

niv nnennoy iann cn-sntr'r'iive D VI-on.

Application filed. February 27, 1926. 'seriaino. 91324-1 This inventionrelates to emergency brake-setting devices, and its chiefob ect is toprovide an improved device adapted v automatically to set the brakes ofa car such as a railway car, for example, promptly upon the descent ofthe body of the car toward the roadbed, as in the case of derail,-

m'ent of one or more wheels. of a' railway car, and thereby topreventdamage to the I car and damage to the roadbed such as fi e;

quently occurs in consequence of the car i v p v g V 1 the'usual bolster11 and Wheels '12, 12, the

continuing upon theroadbed alter derailment, sometimes for agreatdistance, be-

fore the car is wrecked or otherwise effects a breaking of the air-lineand application of the brakes: v

Del-ailments are especially frequent on temporary and cheaplyconstructed railways such as are commonly built-for logging purposes,both because ofiimperfections of the road and because of the debriswhich accuinnla-rtes upon the track, and a further object of myinvention is to provide a brakesetting device adapted to functionefficiently and to function only upon derailment onroads more or lessobstructed by such debris.

More specifically, an object is ,to provide a brake-setting devicehaving an actuating member adapted to withstand the ol-ti-ng of the carand to throw aside obstructions without being actuated thereby. and yetto. be instantly effective in caserof derailment. .A furt-herobject isto provide device adapted to open a reliei valve only a determinatedistance .ior the release of the air and yet to permit wide amplitude ofmovement of an actuating member, in contact with one ofthe rails; for ei:ai'iiple,.so' that the actuatin'g member may accommodate itself tod'iiterent positions of the car, during the continued movement of thelatter, without damage. I

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section, on line 1-1. of Fig. 2, of parts of arailway car truck. with my-devicein its preferred torinmount- Vedthereon, the said device beingsh'own in rear elevation. v r i Fig. 2is a section of the device on" line 92 of Fig. 1, showing'one or theactuating membersv in elevation as-viewed from the middle of the track.1

Fig. 3' is a section on line 8+3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4; is a section ofapartof a modification'of the device. V

Fi' 7 .is a vertical section of parts of another modi fi-cati'on; Fig. 8is a plan view of an alternative fornr of actuating member.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the same.

' Referring first-to Figs. 1 to 3- and 5 of the drawings, the cartrucl-i' 10" is shown with latter being'shon' n in normal runningposition upon the rails 13, 13-. Theusual airbr'ake devices, includingthe train-pipe 20 and brake-shoes 20, 20, are provided.

Secured to the lower face of the bolster 11 by bolts 14, 14 is plate 15,to the lower lTnear the respective sides of the car, the

brackets being adapted frictionally to grip a shaft 18 mounted thereinupon the tight eningof the bolts 19', 19 by which thebracket' s aresecured tothe plate.

From the train-pipe a hose'QI provided with a shut-off valve '22 runsto'th e valvebox 16, in which an'escape valve 23 here shown as a tappetvalve 23, is mounted and adapted when open to vent the train-pipe to theatmosphere through an adjustable relief valve 40 which is adapted to heset toopen in response to a greater or less pressure, so as to preventan erice'ssii' ely sudden and strong application of the brakes. Thevalve 23 may be backed by a spring 24 to assure its'properclos'ing andis provided. with a stem 25 slidably mounted in tli'e valve-block I Gand projecting on the exterior thereof. The regulating valve 40iisbac-ked by a1 spring 40 ig, 5), seated upon "aplug alOFscrewed'in-tothe valve casing,.se that the force of back pressure upon the deliveryside of the tappet valve 28 may be regulated.

For forcin the tappet valve open upon the turning of the shaft 18counter-cloclwise as viewed in Fig. 3 is pivotedat 27 between a pair ofears projecting from the valveblock 16', one arm of. the lever disoosefdverticall being 7 1 v adapted to abut thev stem 25 to open the a camlever 26 valve 23" a-nd'tlie other arm being disposed horizontally andformed with a cam-slot 28 in which is mounted a stud 29 projectinglaterally from an arm 30 secured upon the shaft 18. The cam-slot 28comprises preterably a substantially straight valve-actuating portion 28and a valve-holding portion 2H" s curved as to be concentric with theshalt 18 when occupied by the stud E29.

The lever 26 is j'n'eterably formed with a smoothly curved forward andlower edge, as to depress and ride over, without catch ing upon, brushor the like lying between the rails.

For turning the shaft 18 and thereby opening the valve 23, in case ofderailn'lent, the said shaft has secured thereon, adjacent each of thebrackets 17., a i'lownwardly and forwardly extending plowdihe actuatinglever 31 terminating at its forward end preferably about two inchesabove and just inside of the adjacent rail 13, so that upon descent ofthe shaft 18 toward the roadbed, as in case oi derailment, the forwardend oi? one or the other of the levers ill will be stopped in itsdescent by contact with the rail while sliding forward thereon and willthereby overcome the frictional grip ol the shaft 18 by the bracke s '1?and turn the shaft 18, counter-clockwise as viewed in Fiat. 2 and inFig. 3, and thus instantly release the air in the trainpipe 20 and soset the brakes.

Each oi the levers ill in formed with a. lag 32 projecting rearnardlyfrom its hub and adapted to contact the supporting; plate 15 to preventthe lever ill from being; lorccd downward beyond its proper runningposition by debris encountered by the lever, while permitting the loverto be turned in the opposite direction in case ot derailment.

The lever 31 is preferably of plow-like form or of such form as toeti'ecta deflection of brush or the like toward the :niddle of thetrack, the lowermost point ot the lever preferably being near its:leading end so as to avoid the \vcdging of debris between the lever andthe rail or the road bed and conseqru-ait lifting, ot the lover. Thelower face of the lever near its leading end is preferably given suchangular relation to the rail or such rounded form as toslide forward incontact with the rail in case of derailment without gripping or bitinginto the rail.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 each acuating lever comprises awide shank portion ill to provide lateral strength for the deflectionoi? debris, a tor and portion having an upwardly-inwardly recedingleading edge face 31. for deflecting, debris with an upward component oi'lorce thereon. and a vertical tin 31 adjacent the rail, having anupwardly and rearwardly receding forward face 31, to supplement thelifting; effect oi the face 31 and avoid the clog- 'g'ing of debris inthe angle between the lever and the car-truck frame. The lever may alsobe conveniently constructed, of heavy, bendable sheet metal, with anoblique portion 31 bent laterally from the vertical tin 31, to assist indeflecting the debris.

in the operation of the device, referring to the embodiment shown inFigs. 1 to 3, the two parts of each of the brackets 17 are tightenedupon the shaft 18 with the actuating levers-z 31 in their lowermostpositions. with the lugs 32 abutting the plate 15, and the shut ollivalve :12 is opened to place the train-pipe 20 in communication with theinterior of the alve-block 16. The arm so being in its uppermostposition, the lever 26 ie in position to permit the valve 2;? to be heldclosed by the spring 534- and by the air pressure of the train-pipe. Thedevice is thus put in condition for the open ation of the car.

As the air is propelled over the rails 13 in normal operation the levers31, by reason o i their term as described, receive a down wardcomponent; 0;" force l'rom eubatain tially all obstructions encounteredand remain in their lowermost positions while diverting ohstriurtiousand debris such as brush and the like toward the middle of the track.passing over only such obstructions as are not oi such size as to belikely to cause derailment.

in case of derailment, the descent of the. car truck toward therornlbcd, accom 'nniied necessarily by a lateral movement oi the truckin one direction or the other, causes one or the other oi? the lovers231. to contact and to be stopped in its descent by the adjaceut rail.123 while the further descent of the truck ellects a relative movementot the lever toward the truck, thereby turning the shaft 18 and. throughthe arm 30 and lover 56, opening the valve E33 and permitting the air toescape from the train pipe through the adjust able relief valve 10,thereby causing the brakes to be applied and stopping the train. beforeany great damage has been done to the train or to the roadbed.

In the turning of the shaft 18 the lirst movement oi the arm 30 opensthe valve 23, while the stud 29 traverses the straight port on 28 ot'the cam-slot Qtl, and the valve is then held open in a determinateposition while the stud 29 runs in the arcuate portion 28 o! the am-slotto such position therein as may be dctern'iined by the descent of thetruck with relation to the rail which contacts the one or the other ofthe lovers ill, the t'riction ,Qjrip oi" the brachets l7 upon the shaft18 preventing a re-closinn' ot the alve 23.

Meanwhile the lever Ill. by reason of its angular relation to the rail.slides Forward thereon without ri ipinn or biting into it. whileturning: about the axis of and coinpellinggr the rotation of the shaft1R.

In the modification shown in Fig. -l one oi the twopart, shaft-grippingbrackets 1.7

ill]

is substituted by a one-piece bracket'Bb and a brake-pin 36 is mountedin the bracket and shaft, to serve instead ofth'e' lugs 32 of Figs. 1and 2' to determine the runningposrtions of the levers 31, the brake-pmbeing adapted to be sheared off by the relatively 7 formed on the slide,when the'valve 23 has been opened a determinate distance, the faces and41* being then concentric with the. shaft 18 so that further turning ofthe shaft does not further open the valve.

The slide may be provided with an adj ust- 1 able extensionmember43'pivoted at 44 there on and adapted to be adjusted by a taperedadjustment screw 45 screwed through the member 41 and having its headend projecting through a slot 46 in the bracket 42,

4 foreasy access for adjustment to determine the extent to which thevalve 23 will be opened. 7

In Fig. 7 a simple cam 47 is secured upon the shaft 18 and adapted toact directly upon the valve stem 25 to open the valve 23, the cam beingformed with a concentric cam face 48, following its valve-opening face49, to hold the valveopen a determinate distance while permittingfurther rotation of the shaft.

The valve actuating mecha'nism'of Fig. 6 is preferred for use on carsemployed in lumbering operations, because of the ground clearanceafforded and the adjustability provided for by which instantaneousopening of the valve may be had, by elimination of lost motion. v c

In Figs. 8 and 9 is shown an actuating lever 50 of simple andinexpensive construction which may be substituted for the lever 31 ofFigs. 1 and 2.

Various other modifications are'possible within the scope of myinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: V

1. A brakesetting device for a vehicle, the said device comprising alever pivoted to a part of the vehicle and extending forwardly from itspivot to a position such that it will contact a part of the road in caseof abnormal descent of the vehicle-body toward the roadway, meanspositively governing the lower-most position of the lever with relationto the vehicle, the said lever being so formed and-associated as to beurged downwardly only by substantially all debris encountered in theforward movement of the veilrclaand means operatively con nect'ed to thelever for applying the brakes;

2. A brake-setting device for a vehicle, the i saiddevice comprising amember movably mounted on part of the vehicle and adapted tocontact apart of the road in case ofv abnormal descent of the vehicl'e-bod'ytoward the roadway, the said member having means thereon for laterallydisposing of encountered obstructions in the manner of a plow,

and means .operatively connected to said member for applying the brakesupon contact of the member withthe roadway.

3. A brake-setting device for a railway vehicle carrying a train-pipe,the saiddevice comprising a valve adapted to release the air in thetrain-pipe, a cont-act member so mounted upon the vehicle as to be movedwith relation thereto by contact-with a part of the road upon derailmentof the vehicle, and means interposed operatively between the said memberand the said valve for opening the latter, the said means being so.

formed and associated as to open the valve only a determinate distanceand so hold it while permitting a variable range of movement between thecontact member and the one of the rails, each of the said plow-likemembers having; means thereon for laterally divertingjin the manner of aplow, debris encountered on the roadbed.

5.-A brake-setting device'for a railway vehicle carrying a train-pipe,the'said device comprising an escape valve for the trainpipe, a memberadapted. to be actuated to open the escape valve by contact with one ofthe rails in case of derailment,'and an adjustable relief valve adaptedto control the drop of pressure in thetrain-pipe resulting from theopening of the escape valve.

6. A brakesetting device for a railway vehicle carrying'a train-pipe,the said device comprising an escape valve forthe trainpipe, a memberadapted to be actuated to open the escape valve by contact with one ofthe rails in case of derailment, and adjustable meansinterposed betweenthe said member and the said escape valve to provide against lost.motion.

7. A brake-setting device for a railway vehicle carrying a train-pipe,the said device comprising a plate adapted to be secured to a part ofthe vehicle, a road-contacting member carried by said plate, meanscarried tion to be actuated by Contact with one 01 the mil in case ofdei'uihncnt iioi' actimting the said hi'zikwseitii'lg means, and.Ei'iulrioxinl means for retaining the said member in the position 0which it is :l'nicud by conlnuii with [he mil.

In witness whereof l have liei'vui'iiin not my hand this 18th day oihehnm1' 19:36

HENRY M. .Ei'ililli.

